1. Throughout our overview of Congress, questions have been continuously raised concerning the actual representation provided by that body. In what ways would, or could you argue that Congress is and is not a representative body? (Give some relevant examples, not hard to find with this particular Congressional crop of “leaders”.) What factors bear primary responsibility for this situation? If you were charged with reforming Congress to provide greater representation of the people in all their glorious diversity, what specific changes would you introduce into our system, and why? How would you level the playing-field, in fact (not just in the fiction that you have been given as the “truth”).
2. What are the main powers (expressed powers) granted the president directly by the Constitution? What are inherent powers? What are some of his delegated (statutory) powers? What are some examples of duties/powers assumed by the president in more recent times? (Think FDR and the president as Chief legislator.) How and why has the power of the President increased over time, while that of the party (Democratic or Republican) has lessened in the past few decades, and has this led to greater presidential independence? (Think campaign finance
/bribery, and the change over time in its sources.) Please provide examples of this power shift. (Note that I am not asking you here about the president’s roles, but rather the powers which allow him to carry out those roles. If you cannot understand the difference, this might not be the question for you.)
3. Please list the component parts (built up case by case over time…) of judicial review. Which case first established this power of the Supreme Court? In what significant way does judicial review run counter to democratic theory? How could a judiciary possessing such an overwhelming power still be considered the weakest of the three branches of government? Finally, in the spirit of checks and balances, how can the power of judicial review be countered by the people, and/or by their elected representatives?
